Turkey Pate Recipe

By James Maddock

Updated 14/08/2011

I'm sure most of you know this feeling. Christmas day has been and gone and there is still turkey to be eaten and you don't know what to do with it. You don't want to throw it away but equally you are struggling with the thought of a rehashed Christmas dinner and turkey soup doesn't float your boat either. So, if you are facing this dilemma, it may be worth giving this pate recipe a go. It's not at all difficult to make and with any luck you will have all of the ingredients in your house amongst the rest of the leftover Christmas fare. Another benefit of this recipe is that it uses up bits of meat which may not be suitable for sandwiches or a roast meal.

Ingredients

• 8oz cold cooked turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2oz butter
• 4 tablespoons cream
• 1-2 tablespoons dry sherry
• parsley, chopped
• salt and black pepper

Method

• Choose your favourite saucepan and melt the butter on a low heat.
• Then add the chopped onion (see picture 1) and fry it gently in the butter until it becomes transparent. If you allow the onion to brown it can sometimes impart a bitter taste to the rest of the dish.
• At this point add the turkey pieces and mix well so that the butter and onions are distributed evenly (see picture 2).
• Spoon the mixture into a food processor and blitz to your required consistency (see picture 3). Obviously if you want a chunky pate you won't want to blitz it for too long. If you want smooth then go for it!
• When you are happy with the texture of the pate you can then add the parsley, the cream and sherry. You will need to exercise a little bit of judgement here because you don't want the mixture to become too sloppy, so put the liquid in a little at a time.
• Give it one final quick blitz to mix everything (see picture 4). Taste the pate and add salt and pepper according to your own preference. If you want to be a little bit more adventurous you can try garlic salt or celery salt to enhance the flavour.
• Put into a suitable and, if possible, attractive dish for serving and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or more.
• When it is ready to serve, you can garnish it with parsley. Then all you need to do is spread generously on slices of thick cut bread or good quality crackers. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 240 minutes

Yield: serves 4-6